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Overview

Lawrence M. Hanser is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. He previously served as associate director of the Manpower, Personnel, and Training Program within RAND Project AIR FORCE. As an industrial/organizational psychologist, Hanser's research has focused on people and organizations, and the interface between them—specifically on the design of organizations, and how people are selected and trained to be successful in them. He has led and participated in projects focused on understanding the skill requirements of senior leadership positions in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the impact of these requirements on development and succession planning. His recent work examines entry standards for commissioned officers and how those policies and procedures play out in developing a diverse corps of senior ranking officers. Prior to joining RAND in 1989, he was chief of the Selection and Classification Technical Area at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences in Alexandria, Virginia. In this capacity he was responsible for developing and leading a broad portfolio of research on the selection and occupational classification of U.S. Army personnel. Among these was “Project A,” the largest and most comprehensive personnel research project ever undertaken in the field of industrial/organizational psychology. Hanser received his Ph.D. in psychology from Iowa State University.

Recent Media Appearances

Commentary

Major Silicon Valley tech firms have released statistics indicating their workforces are largely made up of white men. Corporate America is on the receiving end of a complex chain of social and educational factors that continue to leave minorities behind in terms of college graduation, and both minorities and women behind in terms of STEM degrees.

Oct 2, 2014 | San Francisco Chronicle

Publications

This report explores the relationship between the current scoring of data for applicants to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and two subsequent outcomes: probability of graduating and probability of officer promotion.

To help the Army participate in planned reductions in the DoD civilian workforce, the authors examined how the Army might manage supply to meet projected demand for civilian employees over the next several years under a range of scenarios.

Examines the relative scarcity of minorities and women among senior leaders (i.e., colonel and above) in the uniformed Air Force, with the goal of identifying contributing factors and potential policy responses.

This report examines how attrition rates for enlistees with distance learning or homeschool credentials compare with those of high school diploma holders in light of Armed Forces Qualification Test scores.

This research brief summarizes the results of an assessment of the NYPD's firearm training and firearm-discharge review process, including a review of reflexive shootings, officers involved in shootings, and less-than-lethal force options.

In January 2007, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly asked the RAND Corporation to examine his department's firearm training and firearm-discharge review. This monograph reports the authors' observations, findings, and recommendations.

This research brief describes a RAND examination of the costs and benefits of a proposed consolidation of Air Force test and evaluation facilities that had raised concerns among a broad set of interested parties, including members of Congress.

This research brief summarizes a study that examined the kinds of expertise required by senior Navy officers, whether recent pools of officers possess this expertise, and the skills that may become more important for Navy leadership in the future.

Identifies the expertise requirements of senior Navy leadership positions, as well as the types of experience likely to become more important in the future, to better understand how the Navy should develop its officers.

Describes the background for and methods used in a study carried out to better understand how to develop leaders who possess the operational knowledge and technical skills needed to perform effectively in senior Air Force positions.

RAND was asked to first make a quick assessment of the recruiting situation and then carry out a longer-term, in-depth analysis to examine recruiting trends, identify potential problems, and recommend ways to counter them.

In January 1993, President Clinton mandated the end of sexual-orientation discrimination in the U.S. military. RAND was asked to provide a comprehensive analysis of the issues involved and evaluate different courses of action that could be taken to implement the president's objectives.

... to examine how peacetime operations, exercises, inspections, and a range of other activities affect diverse elements within an Air Force wing, concentrating on the high pace of operations that leads to stress and its unwelcome consequences.

In this issue paper, the authors argue that current congressional proposals to change federal workforce training programs may undermine this purpose because they pay little attention to accountability.

This report presents the RAND study that resulted from a request to assist the Secretary of Defense in drafting an Executive Order to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Recent policy initiatives have sought to improve vocational education through increased accountability. The purpose of this study was to analyze existing local accountability systems in vocational education.

In light of expected changes in the size and structure of the force, and the increasing importance of the reserve forces, Congress has asked whether initial skill training for technical occupations could be provided by civilian institutions.

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